


Manner and Matter

by GooseWhiskers



Series: Hey Look, Blue Soup! [6]
Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Arguing, Bullying, Companionable Snark, Cute Kids, Family Bonding, Father Figures, Friendship, Gen, Happy Ending, Jealousy, Little Sisters, Protective Siblings, Relationship Advice, Secret Crush, Sisters, Trust Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-02
Updated: 2019-03-02
Packaged: 2019-11-08 04:45:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17974736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GooseWhiskers/pseuds/GooseWhiskers
Summary: Nathan is the respected General of the Minutemen and the talk of the town in Diamond City. He's won the hearts of the people... with the notable exception of one petulant and unruly paper girl, Nat Wright. She's not nearly so enamored. He's nosy, and old, and he wears a stupid hat. Plus, Piper's always running off after him. So when Nathan interferes with a schoolyard brawl, the last thing Nat expects to find is a confidant.





	Manner and Matter

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place shortly after Piper's approval talk where she confesses her fear of being a bad influence on Nat. Needed some protective little sister/family bonding in my life xD

Richie Davis wouldn’t leave her alone. It started when he shoved her and yelled, “Hey, Gnat! Buzz buzz!” Well, Natalie Wright wasn’t about to take that lying down. It escalated from there. At 13, Richie was big for his age. Small on brains, though. _She_ wasn’t scared.

Snatching her stack of papers back from him, Nat folded them under her arm and made a face. “You should know better than to pick a fight with a reporter. I could get your stupid face plastered all over town, telling people what a no-good cad you are!” 

“Like anyone would believe you,” Richie taunted. “My mom says you’re just a wasteland brat that makes a living off scaring people.”

Mrs. Davis was an Upper Stands shrew of an heiress who flaunted her prejudices like they were the new black. Nat was half convinced the woman was a synth. “Your _mommy_ do all the thinking for you? Two whole brains and you’re still dumb as a one-headed Brahmin.” 

A violent shade of scarlet colored Richie’s face. “Shutup! _”_ He balled his fists, having some difficulty forming the words. “S-t _upid bug._ Diamond City doesn’t want you or your nosy hack sister. You both oughta be thrown out on your asses, just like the ghouls!”

“Say that again!” Nat hollered, reaching into her pocket for a rock and stomping toward him, “Say it! I dare you!” 

His eyes widened and the smirk on his face wavered. Nat thought she’d scared him on her own until firm hands clasped her shoulders. “This boy bothering you, sweetie?” Asked a stern voice directly behind her.

She spun. Nathan loomed over her, the flat purse of his lips enough to set her teeth on edge. He was wearing the stupid bicorne hat that old sailor robot gave him. It looked silly to her, but apparently he was still recognizable because:

“N-n-n _o_ , sir,” Richie sputtered, holding his hands up as if being held at gunpoint, “I mean, _General_ , sir.”

“I was asking the lady, son,” Nathan replied, and this time Richie had enough sense to keep his mouth shut.

Nat huffed, aggravated that her _sister’s crush_ seemed to think it was any of his business. “I’m fine.” She stuck her tongue out at Richie, who finally lost his courage entirely and bolted. “Run back home to _mommy_ , you big baby!” Nat crowed as he disappeared in the tangle of Diamond City alleys.

Facing Nathan again, she pouted deeply. “I didn’t need you _butting in.”_

“Of course not.” He replied, removing his hat and fiddling with the oversized cockade on the side. “I was only trying to spare poor Richie the indignity of a black eye.”

“You shoulda let me sock ‘im. He deserved it.”

“If I had, Piper would’ve grounded _both_ of us.”

Nat frowned, but snickered a little, scuffing a foot in the dirt. “Yeah. I guess that’s true…”

“ _But._ I do realize I’ve robbed you of a great cathartic victory.” He smiled. “C’mon, Takahashi’s noodles are especially good today. They got fresh produce in from Greentop this morning. I’ll treat you - and we can call it even?” Nathan suggested, squishing the hat back on with a flourish and extending a hand to shake.

 

* * *

 

 He had it right. Power Noodles _was_ good today. And Nathan even got her seconds. A _big_ bowl. She wasn’t entirely convinced this didn’t count as bribery and logged it away as potential dirt. Just in case she ever needed to blackmail him.

Admittedly, it was kinda nice. Piper didn’t always have the caps to feed both Nat and herself. And not enough for seconds, that was for sure. He didn’t seem like a man of means, so Nat wondered if he was emblezzing Minutemen funds. Or maybe sitting in someone’s pocket. She’d figure it out.

“You’ll make a man nervous, givin’ him the stinkeye like that,” Nathan remarked dryly.

“ _Why?_ Got somethin’ to hide?”

“Everyone has something to hide. And most of it’s harmless.”

 _Annoying._ But Piper really seemed to like Nathan. Enough to disappear for days on end following after him, anyway. Sometimes even weeks. She called him the _story of the century_.

Nat still hadn’t made up her mind. For one thing, he was _old_. Like, 200 years old. And way too clean. He’d helped Piper out of a lotta jams… but partly Nat resented her sister’s constant fascination with Nathan. Mostly he just frustrated Nat, and she didn’t understand why.

Nathan laughed abruptly as she took a bite. “Piper does that, too.”

“What?”

“The way you twist your fork. Like you’re wrestling with your food instead of eating it.”

Thinking he was making fun of her, Nat bristled. “Yeah? Well you chew like an Upper Stands dough boy!”

His expression clouded. “Cool it, hellcat. We’re all friends here.” He smiled, “Isn’t that right, Takahashi?”

 _“Nan-ni shimasu-ka?”_ The protectron whirred.

“See?” Nathan quirked his lip. “Eat your noodles and stop egging for a fight.”

Disarmed by his manner, Nat went back to stabbing at her soup and scowled thoughtfully. After a moment of silence, she muttered, “... Sorry.”

Nathan blinked. Then, as if reading her thoughts, said, “... You know that boy - he’s wrong. Diamond City would fall apart without Piper. They won’t kick her out.”

“Yeah, I know.”

Nathan raised a brow but didn’t press it. At first, she was glad. Nat wasn’t about to admit to being scared by anything. Least of all Richie’s teasing.

But shortly Nathan’s patient silence filled her with a different compulsion. Richie wasn’t the only one that said things like that. He wasn’t even the loudest. She toyed with her food, “I just wish Piper wouldn’t shrug it off all the time.”

“She’s doesn’t exactly give up the plate over chin music.” Nathan agreed.

“Yeah! She acts like nobody can hurt her!” Nat explained sourly. “But I know they do. I’m not _blind._ ”

Nathan scratched at the stubble on his jaw thoughtfully. He didn’t interrupt.

Nat surged ahead, “And - she’s always telling me not to worry before she runs off again. _Someone_ has to worry. I’m the one that has to keep the press going when she’s not around. ”

“Sounds like a lot of responsibility for you.”

“I guess so.”

“Maybe,” Nathan suggested softly, “her brave face is just an act. She’s trying to protect you the best way she knows how.”

“By _hiding_ things from me?”

Nathan gave a moment to consideration. “No, but there’s… times when, people only pretend to be brave ‘cause they don’t want others to be scared.”

“I’m not six anymore.” She huffed, leaning across the counter on both elbows. “I’m  _eleven_ and a half. I can handle it.”

“Mm- _hm_ ,” Nathan replied, covering the bottom half of his face with an open palm and nodding deliberately. “You’ll always be her little sister though.”

“I dunno… Sometimes I think she just doesn’t want to be around me,” Nat admitted, setting her head between her arms with a huff. Piper didn’t have to be gone as much as she was. Not even for the  _story of the century_. “She doesn’t believe I can keep up.”

“ _Hey_.” Nathan set his fork down, patting Nat gently on the shoulder to get her attention. “Don’t say things like that. Don’t even think them.”

She scowled. As if he knew any better. Nat wasn’t going to ignore the bright neon signs just because Nathan suggested otherwise. But the distress in his voice was still hard to ignore.

“Look, sweetheart - your sister _loves_ you. A lot. More than anything in the world. That’s never going to change,” he asserted.

“Piper’s _always_ finding excuses to leave.” Nat contested. _Especially since_ you  _came around_ , she thought churlishly, not finding it in herself to meet Nathan’s eye.

His brow furrowed. He didn’t immediately disagree, which might as well be a confession. But the shadow over his features didn’t last long. Soon he smiled again, “You want to hear a secret? She talks about you all the time when we’re on the road. And I know for a fact she _worries_ about you, too. _Constantly_.”

“...She told _you_ about it?”

“In so many words,” Nathan tilted his head, rapping his temple with a finger. “Not that she would have to. It shows, plain as day.”

Maybe Nat should’ve been pleased. She was really more aggravated. It didn’t add up. If Piper was so concerned, “Then why’s she always in such a hurry to leave?”

His smile strained faintly. “She’s - got her reasons.”

Nat blew a petulant raspberry. “Meaning you don’t know.”

“ _Meaning-_ ”, Nathan took a breath and sighed. “Your sister is smart. And brave. And she’s trying to do the right thing. By you - and everyone else. Even if she doesn’t hit the mark every time.”

Nat squinted at him. Nobody ever talked about Piper that way. Kinda soft. Like he had a sweet spot for her. Maybe Piper’s crush wasn’t so one-sided after all. Arms crossing, Nat gibed, “That the best advice you got?”

“You can’t change her, kiddo.” He shrugged, looking a little out of sorts. “You just - _love her_ . That’s all you can do. That’s really the best _any_ of us can do when it comes to family.”

Nat’s frustration over Nathan continued to tangle, but he had a point. She supposed. He seemed to care an awful lot about it, too.

Most of the time Piper chased stories that didn’t want to be told. People didn’t trust her. Even their ‘friends’ in Diamond City were nowhere to be found when the sisters really needed them. Nathan was… different.

Taking a loud sip from her bowl, Nat mentioned abruptly, “She’s always gabbing about you, too.”

“Does she?”

“Yeah. It kinda gets on my nerves sometimes. _Bluu-uue_ did this. _Blue_ did that. _Blue_ fell for the trick about the giant centipede.” Nat waved her hands theatrically.

“She did _not_ tell you about the centipede.”

“She told everyone. Vadim thought it was so funny, he even tried to convince Travis to broadcast it on the radio. Travis didn’t want to embarrass you, though.”

Nathan groaned, pressing his fingers to his brow. “ _God.”_

“Yeah. You’re never gonna live that one down.”

Peeking at her from beneath his thumb and forefinger, he scoffed. “Not afraid to say exactly what you think, are you?”

“Ya gotta be tough to survive in the big city, mister.” She replied flatly.

Nathan chuckled. “Fair enough. You’ve certainly got toughness in spades.”

A relaxed silence took hold of the conversation for the duration of the meal. Once he’d finished, Nathan dropped a handful of caps on the counter and reached for his hat. “Well, you’ve been a charming date, Miss Wright, but I’d better be getting back to it.”

“I’m-” Nat hesitated.

Nathan paused, fixing her with an expectant gaze.

No going back now. She swallowed, grabbing her stack of papers, and muttered almost begrudgingly, “I’m glad you’re out there with her. Watchin’ her back, and all…”

“Hah. She’s the one pulling my tail outta the hot seat, most days.” He ran his fingers through his hair, grinning softly. “Piper’s lucky to have you, kiddo. Just be patient with her, okay? Think about what I said. Things’ll turn around.”


End file.
